FIFA execs face prison terms
One week after an American investigation of soccer corruption erupted, seven men remain detained. The seven officials — including two FIFA vice- presidents, one member- elect of the FIFA executive committee and one FIFA staffer — were arrested in hotel ra
FIRST APPEALS
The seven in custody have until next Monday to appeal being detained by Swiss authorities. Their best chance of being released on bail lies with their lawyers either finding flaws in how American and Swiss agencies processed and handled the arrests, or a lenient judge.
“Release on bail is possible, but it’s very, very rare,” said Folco Galli, spokesman for the Swiss Federal Office of Justice in Bern.
40 DAYS
The next deadline in the Swiss extradition process is July 3. The U. S. must submit its formal extradition request by then and may be in no hurry to do so.
“We will publish a press release as soon as these requests have been submitted,” Galli said Wednesday.
EXTRADITION PROCESS
The Swiss justice office will examine the merits of each request and likely issue an extradition order within a month or two. One condition is that the allegations each faces in the U. S. would also be punishable in Switzerland.
The Swiss authorities will not have an opinion on the likely guilt or innocence of each detainee. That is for the American courts to decide, Galli said.
An order granted can be appealed to the Swiss Criminal Court. A further appeal route goes to the Swiss Federal Tribunal in Lausanne. That whole process could last at least six months, depending on how much resistance is put up by the seven.
SEPP BLATTER’S POSITION
The outgoing FIFA president will not be detained in his home country on behalf of American prosecutors. As a Swiss national, Blatter cannot be extradited by Switzerland.
Still, Blatter becomes more exposed if travelling abroad where a warrant for his arrest and extradition could be sought by the U. S. Under normal circumstances, FIFA protocol would require Blatter to attend the Under- 20 World Cup final in Auckland on June 20 and the Women’s World Cup final on July 5 in Vancouver. FIFA said on Wednesday that Blatter does not have any confirmed travel plans in the next two weeks.
WORLD CUP CASE
In a separate case, Swiss federal authorities are looking at possible criminal mismanagement and money- laundering in FIFA’s decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
Swiss police last week questioned some of the 10 non- Swiss residents who voted in the process and still held their FIFA seats.
On Wednesday, the Swiss attorney general’s office said it could not confirm which of the 10 were spoken to as “persons providing information.”